Lyrebird
by AvaWA
Summary: Darkness has fallen upon the Underground, and Jareth is in chains. However, in the Above, a young girl tries to convince Sarah to read the book once more, and save the Labyrinth. J&S, oneshot, possible future trigger warning, Tell me what you think!


A oneshot... for now... mwahahahahahahahah!

The beds creaked and the walls wailed in winter. In the tiny village of Bisquӧt, the St. Sophia's Church and Orphanage- a stone castle donated by Lord Something-or-Other a hundred years ago- housed just under 50 orphaned children, and only recently had they received help from a national volunteer agency, sending workers and supplies to help through the harsher months.

Upon a bed in the older part of the orphanage sat a tiny girl of about eight or nine years old. She held a little, red leather book in her hand which she had been diligently studying before the door swung open with a bang.

"There you are! You know, I've been looking-" Sarah stopped short at the site of the little red book on the floor, having fallen from the child's hands were she startled.

Sarah looked wide-eyed at the book, its cover so familiar. Sarah sucked in a breath, "Where did you get that?"

The tiny girl trembled, mostly from the cold, but also from how angry Sarah sounded. Sarah paused, her expression softening. She knew what little Lyra had been through before the orphanage had found her.

Nearly frozen to death, the tiny child, only 6 at the time, had waddled into the village during a blizzard, her leg broken and her face cut. Because the wind was so loud, Lyra's banging on the door wasn't heard and she was left out in the cold for almost an hour before anyone found her. She had bruises, new and old, covering most of her exposed skin. The girl had been assumed a mute for the majority of 2 years as she never spoke a word. That is, until Sarah came.

A few months previously, Sarah had come as a volunteer to Bisquӧt, and took a liking to the girl. The feeling was mutual. Lyra finally spoke her first words a week after Sarah's arrival, "Could you pass the butter," in a sweet, quiet British accent in the dining hall. It was eerily quiet as everyone paused, many unsure if they had heard properly.

After that, the nuns who ran the school asked Sarah to personally look after the young girl and see if she could help the child more. Sarah accepted the request ecstatically, having come to enjoy the girl's company very much as she was both odd and comfortingly familiar. It could also be mentioned that she did not enjoy the company of the other orphan girls, snobby uppity creatures who reminded her very much of a certain tight-pants wearing villain.

Sarah stepped slowly into the room, staring at the book that still lay on the floor, its pages innocently opened to the title page, which read _Labyrinth_ in clean black ink.

Lyra bit her lip and looked down.

"Lyra, is this yours?" Sarah leaned down to pick it up, only to get shocked a bit. Must've been the cold weather, she immediately reasoned, "It's strange… I have one just like this at home, but I certainly didn't bring it. No, no, it's locked away, deep away in my parent's… attic. So, how…" Sarah kneeled down in front of Lyra, looking her in the eye, "and where, did you get this?"

Lyra looked about ready to burst into tears. Sarah was such a sucker for crying children. She hated the sound, it made her think of… another crying child, long ago.

Sarah got up, pulling little Lyra into her lap. It was strange, how perfectly the child fit into her lap, "Lyra, shhh, shhh… it's ok, I'm not mad at you. It's alright, precious thing-" Sarah stiffened at her own words, but pushed on, "you just have to tell me where you found the book. Don't worry, you can tell me," Lyra finally pulled away, big fat child's tears pouring down her cheeks as she sniffled.

"I-I… It was *sniffle* a gift. My *sob* Daddy gave it to me before I ran," Lyra buried her face into the older women's chest, whimpering quietly.

Sarah eyes widened. Lyra had run? From what? This was the first mention of anything from Lyra's past, and Sarah knew she had to jump on an opportunity like this.

"Lyra, look at me," The little girl's eyes turned up towards Sarah, and Sarah's stomach nearly dropped, seeing how similar they were to _his_ eyes- but she digressed, "You know you can trust me. I am always hear for you, and I will always listen. I've seen a lot in my life, so anything you throw at me, I probably won't bat an eyelash. D'you understand?"

Lyra studied Sarah's face for a moment before nodding.

"I want you to tell me; you mentioned running. What were you running from?" Starting off simple was probably the best tactic to keep the poor thing from panicking. _Precious_, a familiar voice whispered through Sarah's head, but she quickly pushed her past's ghosts away.

Lyra, sucked in a breath as she tried to calm down, "We- we lived together, all four of us. We lived in a castle. An' then the bad men came," Lyra shivered and Sarah finally noticed the window ajar.

She quickly set Lyra up upon the bed, mumbling, "Now how did this get open," as she jiggled the sticky lock back into place.

Heading back to Lyra, Sarah cuddled the girl closer, pulling two heavy blankets around them that Sarah had brought from home.

Lyra continued, "Daddy had fought them as long as he could with everybody helping, but they got through the La-" Lyra coughed suddenly.

Sarah patted her back, "They got through, and," her eyes teared up, "and *sniffle* Daddy gave me the gift, saying to run and get safe, and I did. I ran, I ran, but- but," Lyra continued hysterically, her voice pitched higher with child's grief as Sarah patted her back encouragingly, "but they caught me and they were horrid and they wanted to know all these things and… I hid the boo-k…" Lyra broke off into sobs.

Sarah couldn't think clearly. Lyra was so distraught, it took a bit to get out exactly what she was saying. Lyra's home had been attacked, although Sarah couldn't be sure of who as Lyra had yet to say where she was from. Lyra's dad had told her to run, but Lyra had still been caught… and beaten and tortured by the sounds of things. What kind of people tortured children for information, especially kids who didn't seem to know anything. The only thing of interest was Lyra's copy of _Labyrinth_, and the book was really not important.

Looking at the book again, Sarah frowned.

Lyra pulled at Sarah's chin, directing her face to look into the child's eyes, "Sarah, you've got to take the book. They're here," Lyra looked around the room as if the shadows were going to pop out and snatch the two, "They're coming, and they want the book. It'll be different from what you read. That's why… you've got to protect it. It's the key to defeating them. At least, in your hands it is," Sarah looked up, confused.

"'In my hands'? Lyra, you're not making any sense, Sweetie. Why would someone want this book? How could they have-" Sarah paused as she heard something she hadn't heard in a long while- snickers in the bookcase, whispers under the wooden bed, objects shifting on her desk, as though something small had just bumped into it.

Pulling Lyra closer, Sarah hauled the girl up against her side, holding her on her hip, "Lyra, we need to leave, now."

Lyra only whimpered in reply.

One of the voices called out, "Leave the book, and the girl. Leave, and never return."

Sarah stood, defiant and stubborn as always, tightening her grip on the small girl, "I'm not going to give you either. Leave us alone. I won, dammit!"

The whispers only snickered more.

Lyra looked up at Sarah, a strangely familiar look on her face, "Sarah, read the book. It's different. Run and get safe and read the book. I can distract them for a while. Find Daddy and fight them before they kill everybody. I'll see you again I hope… someday," Lyra smiled sadly, tears in her eyes, but a determined look that shouted that this was not to be questioned.

Sarah was also determined.

"Lyra, I'm not going to leave you here to fight these goblins, you're only 8!"

Lyra's voice quaked, "They're not goblins."

The next things Sarah knew, this tiny girl had shoved her with the strength of a grown man, and Sarah was out the door just as it closed. Sarah screamed as she heard yells and whoops and clashing within, banging her fists upon the door to be let in. She couldn't let the child be taken by those goblins- no, not goblins, she said. But of course they were goblins, they had to-

Sarah paused. Lyra knew about goblins, and didn't show any sign of surprise over hearing the whispers of… whatever _those_ things were. Lyra was reading the book; maybe she knew about- what did it all mean? What was going on? Had Lyra been wished away? Sarah certainly hadn't wished for her to go away, so Jar- the Goblin King definitely wouldn't be visiting her. But who then? And what could Sarah do?

Sarah remembered what she had been told to do. Even if Sarah had to volunteer as runner, she'd do it- for Lyra. She had to read the book.

Racing down the hall past the pointed glares of nuns and curious glances of children, Sarah raced into her room, the bunk across from her luckily empty of its exuberant occupant, her assigned 'roommate'. Sarah sat down heavily on her bunk, flipping open to the first page.

"Right, ok, chapter one, yes, 'Once upon a time there was a beautiful young woman-dadada- whose stepmother'- wait, what?" Sarah stared at the page, "'whose stepmother, Karen, spent many a night… out with her father, leaving her to…"

Sarah, frowned as she breathed erratically, gripping the book in her hands, her eyes staring hard at the floor. Lyra had been right; the book was different.

This time, it was about her.

#(&)#

I hope you liked it! A little whim at one in the morning, you know? Eh- hey, when inspiration hits, you just gotta ride the wave, baby. Anyway, I have a plan for this story, and I'm thinking it's going to be good, so please stay tuned! Righteous, man. Coolio. Adorkable. Sick. Chill. Whatever the kids say these days… Have a great rest of your day, friends!


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